Warded Gloves give a +4 to saves vs. Fire. I was wondering does this apply only to spells such as fireball and combust, or if it also works against defensive spells and items as well? I'm referring to that spell that puts a ring of fire around a target and any who make a hit take damage or things like fire arrows and weapons with flame damage added on.

If you roll a save vs. fire, then the bonus helps. If you don't roll a save, you don't roll a save, and it doesn't matter what your saves vs. fire are (even though you still have the bonus!)

So if you have +50 vs. fire and you take 1d4 fire damage, you take 1d4 fire damage, because you're not rolling a save against anything.

If you have resistance -/5 vs. fire and you need to roll a save vs. fire or else <something> happens, you roll a save and your resistance isn't counted unless and until you take damage.

Got it?